Uplink/Downlink Real-Time Casualty Assessment Data Acquisition System for U. S. Army Aviation Applications

Abstract

The On-board Data Interface Module (ODIM) was developed specifically to provide real-time casualty assessment telemetry data for the training environment on the instrumented range system at the U. S. Army National Training Center (NTC) located at Ft. Irwin, California. Real-time data acquisition and telemetry systems, such as the ODIM, which enhance the feed back capabilities of fielded training systems are becoming increasingly important to the Department of Defense in these times of shrinking defense budgets and decreasing global stability. The ODIM is designed to combine, process and transmit data from the AH-64 (Apache) 1553 data bus, the Aircraft Survivability Equipment (ASE) threat warnings, the on-board training system laser belt, cockpit kill indicators, and status data. The ODIM also downlinks the stored data though the Micro-B transceiver on the AH-64A. For the application at the NTC, the ODIM looks for very specific data from the AH-64 and the MILES/AGES II system. However, the ODIM is programmable to collect any of the data available from these systems. The uplink/ downlink available through the Micro-B transceiver allows the user access to the ODIM's features even from a remote location.